Panel Dismisses Charges Against Doctor

State Board Dismisses Charges Against Doctor

December 16, 1992|By JOHN M. MORAN; Courant Staff Writer

With two members dissenting, the state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday dismissed charges against Dr. Michael Franklin, a Manchester ear, nose and throat specialist accused of fondling the breasts of two female patients.

A six-member majority believed Franklin was not seeking sexual gratification when he examined the women's breasts in 1988. But it emphasized that Franklin was "clumsy and inept" in conducting those exams, and should not perform them in the future.

"I don't think that Dr. Franklin is ever again going to do a breast exam. He would be foolish" to do so, said Dr. John E. Fenn, a surgeon who oversaw the hearings against Franklin.

But two board members -- lawyer Elliott B. Pollack and Dr. Edward Fredericks -- said the hearing panel's conclusions didn't match its findings.

"How can we say that a physician who performs an exam in a clumsy and inept fashion meets an acceptable standard of care?" Pollack asked.

Fredericks was even more direct in his assessment that Franklin's exam was substandard. "I'm completely dumbfounded here by this examination of the breasts," he said. "It's almost as if, I think, someone off the street could've done a better job."

"It's my conclusion that these two patients were sexually violated," Fredericks said, at another point.

But Fenn said that inconsistencies and conflicts in the testimony left the three-member hearing panel unconvinced that Franklin's conduct warranted disciplinary action.

The state had charged that Franklin failed to provide adequate medical care, and failed to maintain proper records in the cases. Specifically the charges alleged Franklin had "commenced to grab, pull and squeeze" the women's breasts "in a frantic and painful manner for upwards of three minutes."

Franklin maintained the exams were appropriate because the unexplained hoarseness that both women reported is sometimes caused by breast cancer. He did, however, acknowledge that he rarely

conducted breast exams, and volunteered to discontinue doing them.

The all-male hearing panel -- Fenn, Dr. Vincent P. Laudone and citizen member Howard L. Goodkind -- heard sworn testimony from the female patients and other witnesses on July 14 and Sept. 4. The other board members were relying on the hearing panel's report, hearing transcripts and other documents.

"I stand by the decision and I'm very comfortable with how it's been rendered," Laudone said.

Sarah E. McGirr, the Medical Examining Board's only female member, voted with the majority in favor of Franklin. "I have found very few doctors who are not inept in doing breast exams," she said.

Another board member, Dr. Myer M. Shimelman, abstained from the final vote, but expressed concern about the evidence. "I have a hard time understanding how an ear, nose and throat person is doing breast exams," he said.

In reaching its final conclusion, the board appeared to be weighing its desire to send a message to the medical community against its conclusion that Franklin's exam was not sexually motivated.

Fenn also said he thought Franklin had already suffered as a result of the inquiry into his actions. "This has become a media event and there's been considerable punishment to Dr. Franklin's reputation already," he said.

Asked after the vote if he cared to comment, Franklin shook his head no.

One of the woman complainants, reached by telephone after the hearing, said she was disappointed but not surprised by the outcome. "He has to live with it. I know what happened. He knows what he did," she said. "I figured he'd get off. They [are] all doctors anyway."

The other complainant could not be reached.

Stanley Peck, director of the state's medical quality division, which prosecuted the case, said he too was disappointed by the final decision. He said he believed the case proved Franklin had violated acceptable medical standards